


Broken Silence

by Birdgirl90



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mild Language, Peace and quiet, hinted at fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 08:23:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6947518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdgirl90/pseuds/Birdgirl90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe, just maybe, they can one day meet in the middle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Hey readers!  
> Alright, so this is something new that I'm trying out. I've recently discovered the Peace and Quiet pairing, and I kind of, sort of love it. That being said, I decided to try my hand at it.  
> I've never written Quiet before, so this was a fun new experience and I enjoyed writing it.  
> Without further distraction...  
> Enjoy! :)  
> ~Birdie

She’s used to the animosity by now.

Her real name isn’t even Quiet, but even if she could correct them, she wouldn’t.  She supposes she could always steal a legal pad from Miller’s office and write on it, tell Venom why she can’t speak to anyone, why she won’t go back to Cipher, why why why.  But he already understands and so does Ocelot, and none of the rest of base matters; the only one she would ever have to justify herself to is Miller, and that would be a waste of breath.  

Quiet laughs to herself.  Breath.  Good one.  More like a waste of ink.  

Kazuhira Miller hates her so much, it seems.  He has since she stepped on the base and he was ready to have her shot.  At first she wanted to hate him back, did hate him even, but now...Quiet’s been around the man enough to understand why he dislikes her, and it’s the same reason she dislikes herself.  He’s had everything taken from him since Cipher came in and messed his life up, even as he tried to make deals that he thought would help MSF.  He was played, and he has yet to move past it, angry for the years lost.  When he looks at her, that’s what he sees.

She’s lost everything too though.  She’s always been sharp, always carried orders out cleanly and quickly.  But the hospital changed everything.  While Cipher saved her life, it also destroyed it.  She can’t remember the last time she did anything under her own volition, the last time she was seen as something other than a super weapon, until meeting Venom.  At least here she can feel like a person again, to some extent.

Quiet makes her way to the main platform.  She’s earned enough merit to roam the base, and she revels in the freedom of it.  Though to be fair, she only stayed in her cell because Venom requested it.  It really was more a courtesy to him than anything else.  But nevertheless, she enjoys being out and alone.  Night is her time to think, and there’s no better place for it than here, against the railing looking over the deep ocean waves.  Besides, being out here means she doesn't run the risk of running into Miller as he makes the late night coffee runs he's recently started doing.

Speak of the devil himself, Quiet thinks as she spies the signature beret and trench coat before her.  Normally she’s alone when she comes here, so the sight of the bitter broken man leaning against the rail causes her to pause for a moment before she continues on.  She steps silently next to him, not close enough to invade his space, but enough to make herself known.  This is her routine, after all.

“Oh,” Miller says, looking up, his voice sour.  “It’s you.  I still don’t know why they let you have the run of this place.  If it was me, I’d have you still in your cell.  Find somewhere else to lurk.”

Quiet holds his gaze, her eyebrow raised in challenge.  They stare for a moment, both too stubborn to back down, until at last Kaz looks away.

“Fine,” he says, staring into the ocean.  He looks as tired as he sounds.  “Stay.  I don’t care.”

Quiet turns back to the water.  There’s a small twinge of sympathy for the broken man beside her.  There are rumors on base about how he was before Diamond Dogs, how he used to play around, making stupid jokes to lighten the staff morale; she’s never seen it, though sometimes she thinks she can see a glimmer of the younger man hiding beneath the bitter mask.  Maybe if they had met under different circumstances, they’d be able to communicate.  She’d have her words and he’d have his laugh, maybe together they could share the wounds inflicted upon them.  

Instead, here they are, amicable animosity at best.  

The silence drags on.

“You know,” Miller says at last.  “I still don’t like you, so don’t take what I’m about to say as anything other than professionalism.  I don’t like you and I don’t trust you.  But...you really have been a great help to base...and to Boss.”

As he speaks, the words coming out begrudgingly at the end, the bitter edge in his voice that he’s reserved for her softens.  It’s not at all what Quiet was expecting and she looks at him in surprise.  He’s not looking at her, eyes still on the ocean waves, the moon reflecting off his aviators.  She realizes how hard it must have been for him to say that, that it’s probably the closest thing to a “thank you” or accolade that he’ll ever give her.  Something unfamiliar shifts in her.  Maybe this is progress.  She can’t help herself as she wraps her arms around him for a brief moment.

“Get off,” Miller growls, pushing at her in disgust, his crutch missing her leg as she moves back.  “We are not friends.  We are not even close to that.  Don’t touch me.”

He may be loud to protest, but Quiet can see the faint flush across his face.  She snorts, then holds up a notepad and pen she swiped in that quick moment from his jacket pocket, enjoying the startled look on the man’s face - she’s fast, after all, and he really shouldn’t underestimate her.  With a slight cluck of her tongue, she scrawls across an empty page.  She presses the notepad back into his single hand, straightens his beret just to watch him squirm uncomfortably, and stalks back to the stairs before he can stop her.  She’s almost to the door when Miller’s yell fills the air.

“Oh fuck you!”

Quiet smirks, looking over her shoulder in time to see him throw the notepad over the railing.  She’d only written two words on the page:

_Lighten up._

It’s a start.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies!  
> I hope you enjoyed. I might play more with this pairing this summer; we shall see. :)  
> As always, feedback is appreciated.  
> Have a lovely day!! :)  
> ~Birdie


End file.
